AVOIDING THE CHEW

I have found that chewing on your foot can be one of the more frustrating aspects of our human nature in the form of saying something that we regret. It seems like more often than not, the harder we try not to say, do or think something, the more likely we are to slip up and let it spray all over the people that we are talking to and at the worst possible time. Doctors tell us that when our conscious minds are stressed and preoccupied with the desire not to slip up and say something stupid or offensive to someone, it is our human subconscious that is devoted to guarding against those mistakes and can fail to protect us, allowing us to say the very thing that we do not want to say. As that happens, and the wrong words slip through, “BAM!” our foot hikes itself up to the level of our mouth and jumps in. The same thing goes with unwanted thoughts that pop into the forefront of our mind. It is possible to learn control over those moments, but we must make a metal and heartfelt effort to do so. I was reading an article the other day that stated that even though someone’s  conscious mind is trying to do the right thing, the unconscious mind is looking for the worst. That article reminded me of something that Saint Paul wrote about in the scriptures long before doctors even began to try and figure it out. He said that, “ Those things we want to do we don’t and the things that we don’t want to do we do. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” Romans 7:5

We can overcome many of those moments ourselves,  just as Paul learned to do, if we follow his example and take the same measures that he took.  Most of us would love some type of system, technique or measure, that would allow us to do this on a regular basis and in our daily lives. Whenever you’re trying to control your thoughts, you must learn to manage your mind and keep it off the task that you are struggling with, refocusing on the things that God tells us to replace that “wrong thinking” with in Philippians 4:8, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” By doing so, it will reduce the effectiveness of your conscious mind exerting control over you. You see we are born with a “fleshly” or “sinful nature” and only the power of God when we allow Him, can rule over our flesh. I believe that there is a spiritual etiquette that the child of God is expected to reflect, but we must desire to reflect it, or folks will see things in us that reveals itself in the form of our fleshly nature. Sadly, many of us, instead of giving our opinions so often need to take on the role of the quiet servant and say nothing at all concerning a thing,  but we are commanded to do so in scripture once we are born again and if we are ever to experience the overcoming power of Jesus Christ.

 

Years ago when I was child, I saw an old move to which I believe was one of the Twilight Zone features. The movie was about this man that talked so much that his so called friends made a large bet with him that he could not stop talking over the period of time that they allotted for him. They placed this  man in a glass house so that they could watch him “for the most part” and listen to any conversation that he might have. At the end of the movie, the man won the bet and his friends ask him how he managed to do it. To answer their question, the man that talked too much, simply pulled down a scarf that was around his neck to reveal his answer. He had cut his vocal cords to prevent his talking. Now that is one of the most radical measures, I have ever seen or heard in order to control one’s tongue. But the moral of the story was that he did what he had to do to make it happen and conquer his tongue. The good news however, is that we do not have to take such drastic measures to get better control over our mouths, we simply have to make the effort. We have to decide for ourselves how important it will be for us to take better control over our flesh in this matter. We will have to say, “Lord Your Word and Your will is what I desire most in my life and I am willing to do whatever it takes to overcome my weaknesses”. Then, hit the road running! Begin to saturate your mind with the Word of God, so that when you are tempted in a matter you will have the proper resources to pull from. Replace your stinking thinking with the proper things to think on and you will be less likely to have to chew on your foot and in some cases, both feet!

 

Loving on you today!

Bren